The game of baseball is engaged in by players of a range of age and skill. Players participating in each level of play, from Little League to the Major Leagues, must work to develop and maintain playing skills in order to achieve success. One key skill, “batting skill”, is particularly difficult to acquire and requires hours of practice, development of proper swing mechanics, development of strength, eye/hand ability, coordination and feel. It is commonly said that the act of making consistent solid contact with a round ball traveling at speed using a round bat may be the most difficult thing to do in sport. Developing confidence in doing so is even more difficult. Current training devices (in particular standard bats) present problems which are detrimental to developing skill and confidence.
One problem with standard bats is that off center hits cause a shock or “sting” to a batter's hands at impact. This problem is most pronounced when the ball impacts the barrel of the bat at a location along its length which is off of the area comprising the center of percussion, or “sweet spot” of the bat. This sting can cause a hitter to become anxious or otherwise fearful of making a hard swing at the ball.
A related problem is the difficulty of making contact with the sweet spot of the bat. The sweet spot of a bat (in general terms) is that area of the bat barrel which, when striking the ball, causes a maximum transfer of energy and a minimum transfer of vibration to the hands of the batter. With standard cylindrical bats, the sweet spot is relatively small compared to the diameter and length of the bat barrel. As a result it is difficult for developing hitters to make solid contact with it. A bigger bat barrel will have a bigger sweet spot but will also be heavier which is problematic for children or other developing hitters who have not yet developed adequate strength. Bats made of wood are used in the Major Leagues for various performance reasons and because they emit a preferable feel and sound to bats made of metal or composite materials when the ball is struck squarely. But bats made of wood, as stated, that have larger barrel diameters are too heavy for many batters to swing. And hollow bats made of metal or composite materials do not have a desirable feel and sound.
A big problem associated with wood bats is breakage. Broken bats are common in the Major Leagues where they are used to make contact with balls thrown at relatively high velocity. But, bat breakage at lower levels (even Little League levels) is problematic because bats made of wood (though relatively inexpensive to make and pleasing to use) are likely to break of splinter if the ball makes contact with the grain of the wood. The batter needs to hold a wood bat such that the ball makes contact against the grain of the wood barrel (i.e. for purposes of example, like striking the end of a deck of cards). This is difficult for young or developing hitters who haven't developed the focus (in paying attention to the grain), the training (from coaches, parents and others in how to hold the bat), or the strength (in terms of maintaining their grip on the bat as they make a swing to insure the bat doesn't turn in their hands before impact) to make proper contact using a wood bat. Thus, use of wood bats is discouraged in youth levels in games and/or in training, because wood bats break and are expensive to constantly replace and/or to reduce the risk of persons being injured by a broken or splintered bat.
Another problem associated with standard bats is that they do not encourage development of a level swing. It is preferable for hitters to develop level swings—that is swing the barrel at a plane where the barrel travels relatively parallel with the ground and as it enters the hitting zone—because balls are thrown so that they approach the strike zone on a substantially level plane. A level swing through the strike zone generally results in more consistent and solid contact with the ball. The roundness of the bat barrel makes it difficult for developing hitters to visualize that portion of the bat that they want to make contact with the ball. And, the roundness does not assist in providing an aerodynamic indication (that is difference in feel as the swing is being made) of when the swing is adequately level and when it is not.
As a result of these problems with standard cylindrical bats, developing hitters become fearful or anxious when making a swing, have difficulty making solid contact with the ball, miss out on the enjoyment of utilizing a wood bat, and otherwise have difficulty developing proper swing mechanics.